Colin Moriarty, IGN Guides Guru, Podcast Beyond Regular I for one am really excited about PlayStation Plus. I was excited about its potential while it was still a nameless rumor floating around the pre-E3 internet, I was excited about it when it was glossed over at Sony's E3 press conference, and I'm more excited than ever about it now that we have tangible details on what the service would entail. Why am I so excited? The answer is simple -- it's all about the value.

PlayStation Plus doesn't seem to be aimed at casual gamers, nor does it seem to be for multi-platform gamers who split time between consoles, or gamers who own a PS3 only for the exclusives. In my opinion, it's for those of us who game almost entirely on the PlayStation 3, spend a lot of time and money on PSN, and are looking for some bang for our buck.

Buy PlayStation Plus and get to play (part of) Infamous.

It's going an entirely different route than Xbox Live, because much of what Xbox Live offers is already free for PlayStation 3 users, and will remain free as the standard PlayStation Network experience. What PlayStation Plus seems to be doing is offering PlayStation faithful consumer perks (and some gimmicks) that forces you to dole out a $50 a year fee for what will undoubtedly amount to savings many times the actual cost of the service for those of us who choose to exploit its features.

I don't want cross-game chat. I like PSN because people don't talk. I don't want to talk to someone playing another game (and I'm not entirely sure why anyone would, frankly), and I certainly don't want to hear fourteen year-olds on Resistance 2 calling me every name in the book. PSN is, by far, the more civil, more adult and far quieter and more relaxed gaming environment, and it's going to stay that way. Thank the maker. But PlayStation Plus delivers where I really need it to. The discounts and free games, which rotate each month, are awesome. The fact that we can set our PS3s to turn on to download updates and patches without us being there is radical (because those epic waits to download and install updates can be burdensome when all we want to do is game). And let's face it -- little freebies like special avatars and themes are pretty cool, too.

Would I have liked more? Sure. I would have liked a way to call out your name on friends' lists if you were a subscriber. I would have enjoyed special options -- maybe specific trophies only for Plus subscribers, or ways to monetize earned trophies (something I've been harping on for a long time). But those are minor gripes. As a hardcore PlayStation 3 fan, and what can only be considered as a heavy user, I must admit that I'm completely satisfied with what PlayStation Plus is offering me. The discounts and free games alone will pay for my subscription in the first month or two.

Age of Zombies rocks -- and it can be yours.

Dave Clayman, IGN Executive Editor I'm not sure if it's fair to critique PlayStation Plus just yet. This is a service that is in its infancy. Actually it might be more accurate to say that it's been born prematurely. The current set of services seem a bit placeholder until Sony readies itself for a competitive subscription offering.

Free games, discounts, and early access to downloads are nice promotions but until they offer core services there isn't a real reason to shell out 50 dollars -- money you could use to buy the games being offered in the first place. Remember, these deals are also available on Xbox Live, they've just been around so long that nobody touts them anymore. Sony needs voice chat and the ability to access messages and queue downloads on the web. Once they get those running, then they need to think about offering something to compete with offerings like Microsoft's ESPN deal -- a value that easily equals the price of Xbox Live Gold.

I have no doubt that PlayStation Plus is going to be a great service in the future but at this point it makes sense to wait a bit before signing up.